Tank.



No. eaasl. Patented spt. 24,1901.

a. F. ELLIS.

TANK.

` (Application mea Feb. 11, 1901.)

(No Model.)

WJTNESSES.- 11W/MIUR.

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UNITED STATES y PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN F. ELLIS, OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

TANK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of :Letters Patent no. 683,391, datedseptember e4, 1961-. Application filed February 11, 1901. Serial No.4619271 (No model.)

To all whom 75 may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. ELLIS, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residin g at Berkeley,in the county of Alameda and State ofOalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tanks,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates t'o improvements in tanks,the object of myinvention being to provide a tank which shall be more economicalinrkconstruction than those heretofore made.

Wooden tanks as at present constructed are formed of vertical staves ofwood bound together with hoops of iron. In this construction thepressure of the liquid contained in the tank is resisted almost entirelyby the iron hoops, the wood serving merely as a casin g to transmit thepressure from the liquid to the hoops. When large tanks are required,the material made use of is generally iron on account of the greatresistance required to be oered to the pressure of the liquid.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved construction ofWooden tank which shall be as strong as an iron tank of the samedimensions, While costing much less. The tensile strength of iron istive or six times that of Wood, but the cost is very much more thanthat. Therefore by using wood in such a manner that its tensile strengthmaybe made use of the construction of the tank canbe cheapened. In thepresent method of constructing Wooden tanks the tensile strength of thematerial is hardly utilized at all. My object is to utilize the tensilestrength, and thereby econornize in construction.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a tankconstructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is an enlargedelevation of a portion/of the tank in the process of construction. Fig.3 is an enlarged horizontal section of a portion of `the tank, and Fig.4 is anenlarged vertical section of a portion thereof.

Referring to the drawings, l represents my improved tank, having abottom 2 of common construction. I form the wall of the tank in thefollowing manner: To the edge of the circular bottom of the tank arenailed short up- 5o right staves 3 of varying len gths,fltting closelyside by side and forming a complete annulus around said circular bottom.Around the lower edge of said annulus is'nailed a ring or coil 4,fornied by a succession of bent wooden p boards 5, arranged withabutting ends, as shown at 6, the first board so secured being pointedat one end, and said board and the succeeding boards graduallyincreasing in width around thebottom 2, as shown at 7, until the fullwidth has been reached, which it is desired shall be the uniform widthof the succeeding boards. Other boards of uniform Width are then nailedin like manner on the upright staves 3 in succession, thus forming aspiral coil of bent boards around the annulus formed by the staves 3.When this coil has reached the height of the top of the shorteststaves,other staves 3 are inserted between the longer staves, with theirlower ends resting on the top of the short staves, and the inner annulusis maintained complete and is gradually extended in heightto correspondwith the height of the coil 4. In this manner said coil and annulus arecarried to the height to which it is desired to erect the tank. Whilethe first coil 4 is being constructed as described a second coil 8 isbegun and con- `and 4, and when the second coil has reached a sufficientheight other coils 9 lO are added in successive laminations, the numberof such laminations, varying with the pressure to be resisted. I haveherein shown four such laminations; but for a larger tank more thanfourlaminations will be used and for a smaller loss.

By reason of the laminations being nailed together at frequent intervalsand being formed of long thin bent boards, the joints between which arebroken in successive laminations, said laminations form substantially `acontinuous annulus resisting the outward pressure of the inclosed liquidby the tensile strength of the boards, and the vertical staves being allnailed at frequent intervals to the several coils are as firmly boundtogether and held in place as if they were as long as the height of thetank.

The interior of the tank will be lined, as

IOO

shown at 1l,`to render the same liquid-tight, as by pitchingthe 'sameinside for Water for? lining with sheet "metal for oil.

I have herein shown the laminations as formed of boards spirallyarranged, that being the preferred form of my invention; but I do notdesire to limit 'my claims thereto,as the laminations may also be madeof vertically-successive rings of boards Without departing from thespirit of my invention.

I claiml. A tank comprisingva circular base, up-v right stav'es havingtheir sides at their lower ends in contact with the cylindricalperiphery of said base, and nailed thereto, fitting` closely side byside, and forming a complete annulus around said base, and concentriclaminations, each laminationbeingformed of bent boards having abuttingends, the joints between the' boards being broken verticallyr andhorizontally and thewhole firmly bound.,4 together by nails through thelaminations andA annulus, substantially as described.`

rstnamed staves, vertically successive staves having abutting ends, andannularlysuccessive staves breaking joints, and concentric laminations,each lamination being .formed of bent boards having abutting ends, ,thejoints between the boards being broken "vertically and horizontally andthe Whole firmly boundtogether by nailsthrough the laminations andannulus, substantially as dei scribed.

In Witnesswhereof -I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing-'Witnesses. w

B. F. ELLIS.`

Witnesses: l

FRANCES M. WRIGHT, Z. A. DANIELS.

